Short and Sweet
by IrisBey
Summary: "Why should I help you?" I narrowed my eyes. I still don't like this rude, crude and emotionless man. "I'll help pay you through college. I certainly have enough money." This guy! I narrowed my eyes in disbelief. "What do you need me to do?" "Be my boyfriend up until my role in the first season ends." "What?"
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 _A New Start- Introductions_

The winter was when I met him. It wasn't wonderful and magical. It was crazy and outrageous and sort of like wildfire. I didn't fall in love with a prince, and it wasn't a fairy tail. I fell in love with a crude, emotionless man, who cared more than he let on. He isn't one of the most expressive of people but he certainly is one of the most caring. He's brave, crazy, has a horrible sense of humor, and he's irreplaceable.

"Eren, where do you want these?" Armin asked hidden behind packing boxes he currently had stacked in his arms, walking into the room.

I looked behind me to see the spectacle of my blonde haired friend trying to balance the boxes as he stumbled around my new apartment with his usual clumsiness. A small asian woman with strikingly black hair came up from behind the boy, startling him.

"Mikasa, take those from the idiot before he breaks it." I said turning to the girl as she nodded in silent understanding.

"Hey! I'm not that clumsy-" He said almost dropping the mountain of packages in an attempt to hand them to Mikasa, my adopted sister, as the girl was extremely agile, she more than easily caught all of the boxes.

"Sure you're not." I felt a small smile tug at my lips.

Armin, Mikasa and I have been friends ever since we were kids in elementary school. We've never separated since. Armin is more like family than a friend though. I can always rely on both of them, even if they are kind of crazy. Especially Mikasa. She's...protective.

"At least I'm not stubborn, a bull is less likely to get in a fight than you!" The little blonde pointed at me accusingly.

I spun around at the insult. "That's unfair, Armin! I don't get in fights _that_ often!"

He gave me a look that said 'Don't even try.'

"Really? First grade. Remember Trey Hanson?"

I turned around. "I-I don't know what you're talking about." I stuttered.

"Oh really, so you don't remember getting suspended for putting a snake in his cubby? Or how angry your mother was? I can still remember the look on your mother face when the principal told her about it. She got all red in the face and gave the scariest glare I've ever seen come from someone." He said chuckling

I shivered at the thought of my demon mom. She cared a lot, maybe too much.

"That doesn't count, I was protecting you from the asshole!" I pointed out.

Armin isn't exactly the most intimidating of people, so me and Mikasa often took up the job of protecting him when we were younger. Armin is the definition of a bookworm, so he'd often get picked on for reading during lunch and free time. However that made sense to the bullies. Watch out, he's literate. He might out spell you! Jokes aside Armin is actually a fucking genius. He's tested out of required classes in high school, and he's in all advanced placement classes now that we're in college. Boy could rule the world with his pinkie finger.

Which is definitely more than I could say for myself. As I have a B-C Average. Maybe lower in Maths. Slightly. Like a letter grade. Maths is really hard, okay!

Armin smirked evilly "What about, Jean?"

I groaned at the mention of the bastards name. "Horseface doesn't count. You can't argue with animals."

"What do you even have against him, he's not that bad of a guy." Armin asked, sitting on the dark mahogany wood floors, as we hadn't moved the furniture in yet so there wasn't an available seat. Not that he minded to much.

"Ya, take Elmer's side." I scoffed

"Was that a horse glue joke?" Armin grinned

"...Maybe."

Jean is probably the closest thing to an arch nemesis as you can get. There isn't really a whole lot of a reason as to why I don't like him, there's just something about him that makes me angry. Could be his horse face. Could be his hoof sized brain, I don't know. Could be because He's me Ex, we have a history. Blah blah blah. He's also not the brightest of individuals though so...

The kid will pick a fight on a whim, over something stupid and meaningless. Which makes that a perfect scenario for me. As I am the most hot-headed person ever.

"Eren." I turned around to see Mikasa standing right next to me.

"We need to hurry up if we're gonna make those dinner reservations."

That's Mikasa for you, always punctual and precise.

"They can wait, they've been waiting two years for me to get here anyway, they can wait a few more hours." I dismissed her as I started taking the last of the blankets out of the box that was sat on the floor next to my feet.

My friends have all lived here in Los Angeles for two years, they all decided to move out here together, seeing as most of them are couples. I was the only one who couldn't make it out. The ticket to fly out from Florida and pay for college with room and board was too much for my parents and I to pay. Because I couldn't make it out to L.A. Mikasa and Armin didn't go, as we are inseparable.

My mood visibly darkened with the thought of life back in Florida.

Ugh, I didn't come here to think about _him_. I came here to follow my passions and to forget my past. I just wish mom could have come with us.

Mikasa shooved past us both to grab more packages from the hall.

Mikasa is a very quiet person, she very rarely talks, so people think she's an emotionless and shy person, when in reality it's the opposite. She remains stoic in order to make sure people don't worry about her. She's actually quite kind and rather blunt at times.

I left my thoughts of my as I heard Armin call out to me.

"Eren!" I jolted forward in surprise as I whipped my head up towards the brainiac who had a look of complete concern on his face.

I hate that look. That's the look everyone gave me in high school. That look. That's the look my teachers and my peers gave me. A look that could be translated with one word: Pity.

I don't _anyone's_ fucking pity.

"What?" I snapped responding rather loudly, startling the boy.

"Sorry..." I mumbled an apology halfheartedly

Armin shook his head dismissing the earlier outburst.

"Anyway, I was asking if you saw the latest episode."

I sighed quietly. There is a T.V. show called 'Wings of Freedom' that Armin is _obsessed_ with. **_(Creative yes I know)_**

"Nope."He never fails to explain every episode in great detail to me. The show's had, what, nine season's, and Armin's watched. every. episode. Armin is like a child on Christmas when watching the show, kid loves the show. That's probably only because of Erwin, one of the actors in the series. Armin may or may not have a secret _-_ ** _pft_** crush on the guy.

The show is about cities that live within enormous walls, to protect themselves from giants who eat humans. At least that's what I remember from what Armin's told me. I tend to block him out, cause he goes on for hours about the show, and it's tiring to even look at him when he explains it. The blonde haired boy will visibly vibrate in his seat from excitement when explaining the series to him.

I mean at least he has something other than studying that he enjoys I mean get laid or something, anything really. . Go outside. Go to the beach. Just something. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. I'm no different than Armin in that department, though not for the same reason.

I haven't been in a relationship since Jean so, things haven't really developed in _that_ department in a while. Although my mother 100% supports my love life. I can almost hear her now. "I'm fine with anyone really,as long as you're happy."

Carla really is a sweet mother, kind and caring and a bit over protective.

"Oh my God, Eren! The story is so amazing! You need to watch it! Not only that but the actors are really hot!"

I rolled my eyes at Armin's change of character. The kid is so innocent although sometimes it doesn't show, but most often than not you can make the guy turn redder than a tomato at a simple comment.

"You only watch the show so you can stare at the eye candy for forty five minutes. What's his face? Ermin?" I teased

On cue the boy lit up like a firecracker and squeaked out a response.

"Erwin." He corrected me.

"I do not! Besides, Erwin has a boyfriend in real life so..." He trailed off

I rolled my eyes again at him. Like he would ever meet Erwin in real life, even if he didn't have a boyfriend, celebrities don't give ordinary people the time of day. Not that I would ever shoot Armin down by saying that anyway.

"You never know, the tabloids are always stretching the truth. In fact it's rarer to find them telling the truth than making up a scandal. Who's the guy, Erwin's supposedly dating anyway?" I asked not very interested. Armin was the one who was obsessed not me.

"A guy named Levi Ackerman. They date on the show, so the rumors could be true. I heard he's taking some college courses in acting." Armin explained

I huffed in amusement. The guy had the same last name as Mikasa, that's a strange coincidence. Ackerman seems like it could be a popular name though.

"Levi huh?" The name seemed to roll of my tongue smoothly.

"Come on, let's finish up. I don't want Connie and Reiner bursting into here, raising hell." Armin said walking back to the hall.

I smiled to myself I decided that I liked the name Levi and walked after Armin to finish unpacking. 

Later that evening we arrived at a restaurant called Sonny&Bean to meet all of out friends at. By the way a little side note, what a weird ass name for a restaurant.

When we got to the restaurant, I could already see Sasha and Connie at the front doors of the restaurant, they seemed to be arguing over something, but I couldn't really tell from here.

When I hopped out of the car, courtesy of Armin, I could hear them arguing from the parking lot.

"They're not here yet, and our table isn't ready either!" Connie yelled exasperated

If I know anything about Sasha, then they were arguing over food.

"I know, but can't you do something? I mean I'm starving over here." The brown haired girl complained

"Oh god they're arguing about food again?" Armin looked as exhausted as Connie did at the moment.

"Well you can't exactly satisfy an endless pit."

Armin giggled as we approached the still arguing couple.

"Hey, guys!" I smiled widely as they turned around and grinned.

"Eren! Armin, Mikasa!" Connie threw his arms around me and Armin and was about to hug Mikasa when she gave him a dark glare.

"Still as scary as ever." He mumbled

Suddenly there was a shriek and then I felt someone tackle me from the side, causing me to stumble slightly.

"THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE! NOW WE CAN EAT!" Sasha exclaimed excitedly wrapping her arms around my neck.

That's Sasha for you. Only cares about food.

Connie and Sasha have been a couple ever since we were in high school, so we rarely ever see them apart. I don't know how they put up with each other. They're both a handful. Connie is a prankster and Sasha is, if you couldn't tell, a food...enthusiast.

"You sure take your time don't you?" Ymir said coming out from the red rustic restaurant doors along with her girlfriend, Christa.

"Hi Guys, Long time no see." Christa greeted with a small cheerful smile. She really is a God sent. Which makes no sense because Ymir is kind of crazy. I'm surprised Christa hasn't been tainted by Ymir yet.

Ymir, is kind of like a female version of Connie. They're both jokers and kind of evil. And they LOVE teasing as well. You can never miss a snarky comment coming from those two. I shuddered at the thought of the last time they went on a rampage of pranks, last April fools was a nightmare. That's literally their favorite holiday.

"Just because they're here, doesn't mean we can eat yet, Sasha." Connie explained to the wiltering girl.

"If I wait any longer I might die." She whined as she clung to Connie like a monkey.

I smirked at the girl before pulling an object out of my pocket and placed it in her hand.

"A reunion gift." I said smirking

Suddenly Connie and Ymir burst out laughing.

"You gave her a potato?" Ymir exclaimed with laughter

"From tenth grade...when...she-" Connie got out between fits of laughter.

Way back in high school, much like now, Sasha was a food hog. The girl would often bring food into class to eat between lunch and one day she didn't have time to make snacks so she grabbed the first thing she could find. A potato. And the overly excited girl proudly ate that potato, but our teacher didn't find it as amusing as we did when she whipped out the vegetable during a lesson in Shakespeare. So he promptly asked her what she was doing and in response she said "Eating a potato." The teacher wasn't too impressed with her answer and gave her a hard glare as she continued to much on the raw vegetable. Let's just say that just because you offer your food to your teacher, doesn't mean you'll get out of trouble. Sasha was very surprised to learn this. So this kind of became a inside joke. Whenever Sasha was hungry we'd give her a potato. Yes, we stocked our cars with potatoes. Sasha didn't seem to care, free food is free food.

Suddenly there was a very loud buzzing sound.

"Our table's ready." Connie spoke simply as he held up the vibrating device.

Sasha howled in excitement, shaking Connie by the shoulders as we entered the restaurant with Ymir and Christa leading the way. Christa slide her arm through Ymir's and smiled up at her. Ymir smiled back lovingly at the sweet girl and it made my heart flutter at the sight. I wish I could find a love like that. So loving, and trusting. I wonder if I'll ever find someone that amazing.

I was interrupted from my thoughts as we arrived at our large booth that currently had Reiner and Bertholdt sat at the far end as Marco sat in the middle.

"Hey, guys!" Reiner excitedly

"Hey Reiner-" Armin was interrupted as Reiner promptly pick Armin off the ground in a bone crushing bear hug.

"...Help...Me" Armin wheezed out under Reiner's iron grip.

I gave him a sympathetic look and took my chance to sit down before I was squeezed to death by the large teddy bear that is Reiner.

Mikasa said her quiet hello's as she sat down next to me.

"Hey, Eren!" Marco smiled brightly causing me in turn to give him a small smile.

This overly joyful person is Marco, he's not half bad.

He's kind of like a freckled Jesus, he's the holy saint of the group. He tends to keep us out of trouble...Well...legal trouble. Well, tries.

This saint is dating none other than-

"Hey, Jean! Eren's back!" Marco smiled brightly at the two toned haired horse.

"Huh, I would say nice to see you again, but I promised myself I wouldn't lie." Jean smirked

"Oh, I'm sorry, could you repeat that cause all I could hear was 'Neigh, Neigh, Neigh'"

Jean's face quickly turned into one of anger. He kind of looked like a constipated turnip when he made that face.

"Take it back Jeager!" Jean growled

Jean looked as if he was ready to reach over the table right now and punch my lights out.

"Nah, I'm good." I said looking at my nails like they were the most interesting thing in the world.

"Why don't you come over here and say it to my face!"

I rolled my eyes. This kid is ridiculous.

Marco was trying to calm Jean down as I sat in my booth, not particularly interested in our conversation. It was almost too easy to push his buttons. I need a challenge.

"I would fight you, but if I hit you that'd be considered animal abuse."

"You little shit-" Jean was interrupted by Reiner's fist coming down lightly on his head. Even if it was light I'm sure it hurt. Reiner is a big guy, so his light playful punches really fucking hurt.

"Shut up you two, I'm hungry." Ymir exclaimed sitting down next to Armin and Mikasa who was accompanied by Christa.

Jean just huffed angrily under his breath and sat to the other side of Marco and Connie and Sasha sat next to Christa.

We quietly chatted among ourselves as we studied the menu over.

"So then, I had to walk home in my underwear down the street for ten blocks!" Connie finished as everyone laughed along at Connie's drunk adventure's.

I missed this dearly. I missed sitting down around a dinner table and laughing with my friends. It warmed my heart to see everyone happy and well. I really wish it could stay like this forever. All of us happy and smiling.

"Hello, my name is Petra, I'll be your waitress tonight! May I take your order?" A small girl with soft orange hair and kind honey eyes skipped over to our table.

Everyone told her their order and as soon as she left the conversation picked up again, quickly getting louder.

Suddenly we heard a screech come from the kitchen along with the sound of dishes breaking something along the lines of "OH MY GOD YOU CAME TO VISIT ME! OH MY GOD TAKE A PHOTO GOD HIMSELF HAS GRACED ME WITH HIS PRESENCE!" was yelled

I winced. God this restaurant is weird.

A/N: Next Chapter is Eren's first day of college in L.A. He may or may not meet some more people.

Yes, I know I'm an uncreative little shit so fucking deal with it. Anyways Love you all, until next time.


	2. Chapter 2

Short & Sweet

Chapter 2

 _I'm not a brat!_

I banged my head against my desk to control my frustration. Why the fuck does math need to have letters in it? I don't even understand how to solve a problem with numbers so you throw some letters in and expect me to understand? Don't even get me started on imaginary numbers! Shits invisible! It has nothing to do with my major anyway! Stupid graduation requirements.

My old crusty teacher was at the front of the very large classroom writing complicated equations on the equally elderly chalkboard, as he held the textbook open with his other hand. Everything about the man was boring. His grey side parted hair was boring, his monotone, and dull clothes were boring. Even his walk is boring.

I love unique people, and those who have very specific styles or facial features and such, but this man was just kind of average. Height, weight, eye color, personality. Just dull.

Why couldn't I ever have a nice teacher or like a cool teacher? Reiner always boasts about how he gets all the cool teacher's. It's not fucking fair!

At least make him attractive or something, anything but this old man with his grandpa glasses and sweater.

really isn't that bad though. He's a pretty good teacher, he can't help that I suck at math and find him to be one of the most boring people on earth.

I'm gonna have to ask Armin to help teach me the material, otherwise I'm not sure how I'm going to learn the later lesson's if I suck at the easy stuff.

I let out a particularly loud groan and rolled my head to the side to see a girl with long thick hair pulled into a ponytail, giggling quietly to herself.

"You too, huh? I stayed up a bit too late as well and I'm still exhausted from my job late night." She whispered I assume that's what she was trying to do, but it was more like a regular tone than a quiet one.

It's weird how this strange woman just talks to me as if I'm her best friend.

"Hi, I'm Hanji." she raised her hand out for me to shake.

I rose my eyebrow in question but still took her open hand. Upon taking her hand, I felt a tingling sensation at my fingertips and pulled them back in shock, clutching the offended hand to my chest.

The strange girl's laugh got louder this time and shot the woman a glare and quite a loud "Shh."

"You're so adorable." The wild woman cackled again.

I gave her a strange look as my face brightened at the complement. What an odd woman. And what was that earlier? It felt like she shocked me.

She looked at my face and gave me a grin as her laughter died down.

"It's a buzzer, see?" She stuck her hand out again but this time she opened her palm to me, and sure enough there was a tiny electric buzzer.

I tried to ignore the insane woman's grin that rested on her lips, as she kind of looked like a clown when she did so.

"Do you do that to everyone you meet? Or is that just reserved for freshman?" I asked

"What!" She spoke loudly again, catching the attention of everyone around us. Most people gave glares and returned to the lesson.

"You're a freshman?" She asked quieter this time, but not by much. She was obviously trying to be quiet for my sake. I'm sure that she honestly doesn't care what people think of her. She seems like a very loud, and carefree person.

"Yes." I answered simply. I don't exactly know how to interact with someone this energetic.

"Wow, you look like a senior, which I am by the way. Hey, I didn't catch your name did I? I feel like I've scared you, don't worry you'll get used to it." She assured me.

What is this crazy lady talking about? Get used to? What does that mean?

"Well, uh my name's Eren." I smiled politely

I'm not sure if I should actually tell her my name. My mother often says 'although the things crazy people say are funny, doesn't mean you should trust them.'

That probably applies 100% in this weird situation.

"Oh my God, you're just so cute! Eren, huh? It fits you well. Well, what's your major?" She looked at me expectantly, brown eyes shining with curiosity.

Here it comes the same dreadful question. A very simple question, but very troublesome at the same time.

It's easy enough to answer, but hard for people to wrap their head around. Well, the lie is easy to understand. "Yeah I'm studying to be a professor." People often respect that answer, but the honest answer...not so much.

The honest answer is: "I'm studying art as my major." I spoke quietly

People often judge me for my major. Asking questions such as 'Why?' and telling me things like 'You'll never make it.' and 'That doesn't pay much' or 'How will you support yourself?'

My mom never for a second judged me for my decision. She always tells me to do what makes me happy and follow my dreams, so that's what I did. I moved to L.A. to study art.

"Oh, that's cool! I'm not a very good artist myself, but I'd love to see your work myself! I'm very much an art enthusiast." She said excitedly

"So, that's it?" I asked confused

She gave me a look that now matched my own.

"No, 'How are you planning on making money on that?' or 'It's just a waste of time...'

Hanji looked at me with a very serious look and frowned.

"Why would I do that? Doing what you like in life is the only thing that matters. Not anyone else's ignant opinion."

I giggled at her pronunciation and she seemed to light up like a christmas tree.

"That's the first time you laughed." She smiled wider

I looked at her, my eyebrows furrowing.

"No it's not."

"Yes it is, nervous laughter and polite laughing doesn't count." She said pushing her black framed glasses up her pointed nose.

She's a lot more observant than she let's on. I gave her a genuine smile this time, causing her to squeal.

"Oh! You're just the sweetest thing!" She grabbed me and pulled me into a very tight hug, causing me to lose my breath and everyone else around us to stare.

We talked the rest of class and I asked her about why she was taking this class as a senior and she told me that she was retaking the class because she enjoyed it so much the first year! Who does that? Well, I guess crazy people like Hanji do. Why am I even surprised?

Since she's a math wizard she gave me her number so she can help me study.

Why do I feel as if this is a horrible idea?

It feels like I've just given a serial killer rope and a knife. Which I wouldn't be too surprised if that's what her 'occupation' was. We never actually got around to that, and that makes me wonder, who in God's name hired this crazy lady to do a job?

After class, Hanji told me that she would walk me to my next class, considering I have art right after. Since Hanji doesn't have another class until later today, she decided she would walk her new 'friend.

"So, what' your favorite medium to work in?"

"Well, primarily I like working with charcoal, but I really like the look of oil and watercolor paintings...and traditional pencil drawings are really fun too…" I trailed off in deep thought.

I turned to look at Hanji and she was smiling creepily at me.

"What now?" I asked scared of her answer.

Pretty much anything could happen with Hanji.

"You look so passionate about art, I really admire people who have things that are that important to them."

I smiled gently at her kind words. She really is weird.

"I have this one friend, he's really into theatre and art maybe I could introduce you two."

"Pft, oh no that sounds like a disaster. If they're anything like you then...I don't know what I'll do. One of you is enough."

She cackled loudly at that. "You sound just like him, you guys would probably get along well."

We stopped outside my classroom to say our goodbyes and had to shove Hanji the other way, because she 'just had to see the inside of the classroom.'

Speaking of classroom's, the art room turned out to be quite large. The walls were splashed, literally, with paint and the room was very open as the desks were sat next to the large windows that lined most of the walls. In the middle of the room was a cart full of art supplies and next to the door of the classroom was the teacher's desk which seemed to be covered in pain. There were several storage cabinets scattered across the back of the room. I love the open space and the large windows, it gives it a very comfortable and peaceful feeling to it.

I made my way towards the farthest desk that overlooked the small patch of trees, that seemed oddly beautiful, as their branches were bare and exposed. The trees were tall and twisted almost like they were reaching for the sun. I wish I had my camera I could have taken some nice shots of the scene. I bet sunset was beautiful here.

I pulled out my sketchbook and started to contour the scene before me with my short, worn down 2H pencil. I had my nose so far into my sketchbook that I hadn't noticed someone trying to get my attention.

"Oi, Brat." I heard a deep monotone voice call in my direction and looked up to see one of the scariest people to ever exist. The look he gave off was If you disrespect me, you might die. No make that you WILL die.

Besides the very noticeable scowl on the man's face, he was actually very attractive. The man was very small in size, like a fun sized snickers bar. I'm sure if I said that to him, he would kick my ass into next year. His short black hair was parted slightly to the side and was worn as an undercut. The short man's face was beautiful to say the least. He had very pretty grey, sharp eyes, that gives the nastiest of glares, paired with black elegant eyebrows. His nose and chin were very slender, almost feminine like, but that didn't make him look any less manly. He's got a very distinctive look to him.

His small lips were pulled into a frown and I couldn't help but notice the piercing that sat on those same lips.

"Brat, I'm speaking to you." He spoke in the same annoyed monotone voice.

"Oh, sorry. What'd you need?" I asked my eyebrows furrowing together in complete concentration.

"I was asking you if you had any sketchbook paper." He said with the same bored expression.

"Doesn't the cart have paper?" I questioned

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Are you going to interrogate me, or are you going to give me what I want?"

I blushed lightly at the suggestiveness of his statement and hurriedly tried to rip a piece of paper out of my be honest, I don't like the way he keeps staring at me. It makes me feel like I have to obey every word that falls from his lips, and quite frankly I don't want to have to speak to the odd man for more than I have to.

"Here." I quickly ripped a blank piece of paper out of my sketchbook and gave it to him, our fingers lightly brushing over each others, causing fire to erupt not only in my fingers but in my chest. I could feel my heartbeat catch in my throat and it suddenly became hard to breath.

"W-w-well if that's all you need…" I rushed my tongue stumbling my words

The man just smirked. He obviously liked watching me squirm.

"What's the matter, brat? Cat got your tongue?"

I felt my face heat up partially from embarrassment and partially because if the man kept staring at me with those eyes I'm going to melt. Something about his eyes made me hold my gaze.

"Stop calling me brat! It's not my name. My name's Eren!" I snapped back at him.

He gently rose one of his eyebrows at me and smirked again.

"Aw, kitty does have claws. That's cute. But if you're a brat then I'm gonna call you a brat."

I narrowed my eyes at the rude man. "Then what do I call you? Shrimp?"

This time the dark haired man narrowed his steel grey eyes. "What'd you say brat?" He seethed

I gulped, but his change of tone didn't deter me. "You heard me, or are your ears too small too?"

I was surprised when I heard a laugh come from the emotionless man, his laugh was deep and sultry and I found myself wanting to hear it again. Though he quickly shrugged off the laugh, as if it had never happened.

"I can't tell if you have balls or if you're just very, very dumb." He said darkly

"Alright class! Please take your seats! We have a lot of material we have to cover!" The teacher interrupted the small crude man, and he quietly walked over to the far side of the room, narrowing his eyes at me.

I had a feeling he was going to jump me after class. I might be stubborn, but I'm not stupid. That man could easily kick my ass. From what I can see he's got some pretty big muscles for being so small.

"Right, so getting right into it. I'm your teacher, you can call me Mrs. Alan or Mrs. A for short. So assuming you all are supposed to be here, I'm going to assign you, critiquing partners for the year. No whining and absolutely no switching. So, I'm going to assign you randomly. Who knows maybe you'll become best friends with your partner." Mrs. Alan took out her chart, and started picking away at students one by one until, me and guess who were left, grumpy. "Levi you're with Eren."

Levi clicked his tongue in annoyance and sauntered over to my small working space. I assume the tongue thing is a habit of his.

This must be God's cruel way of pulling a joke on me. I would have paired with anyone else in the room, and I just so happen to be stuck with him? I mean it might as well happen. Shit like this happens all the time, why am I even surprised anymore.

"Long time no see, brat." He spoke bitterly, pulling the chair out and plopping down on the chair.

"Shrimp." I said looking at my nails.

Wait a second...Levi? That name sounds familiar. Why is it so familiar?

"Look brat, We're gonna have to get along whether we like it or not. So you better start cooperating. I don't want a bad reputation just because of some angsty kid. I haven't worked this hard just for you to fuck it up."

That's when it occurred to me.

"Wait a second. You're Levi ACKERMAN?"

He didn't seem too impressed with my outburst.

"Yes, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't burst my eardrums."

I smiled sheepishly "Sorry."

He looked away from me and stared out of the window. "Whatever."

I wish I could have taken a picture of the scene. His dark hair, complimented his pale skin, that shone brighter when the sun hit it.

"So how much longer are you gonna stare at me?" He said still looking out the window before turning his head slightly to look at me with an intensity that rivaled that of a lion. Waiting for the moment to strike. He was quite honestly beautiful.

I looked into his eyes as my heart sped up and my palms started to sweat with anxiety.

"As long as I want to, people often stare at the things they admire."

He rose an elegant eyebrow at that.

"Admire?"

"I admire you for your hard work. I know that making it in the acting business is really hard to do and I have a strong admiration for those who are passionate about things." Me and Hanji could both agree on that. "No matter how awful their personality is."

He rolled his eyes at the last part. "Thanks kid."

Mrs. Alan clapped her hands at the very front of the room and everyone turned to her to give her their attention.

"Okay, hopefully you guys have gotten to know your partners a little better. Now I'd like to discuss our first project. To start of the year right, I'd like to start with modeling, and then we'll go to shading and then charcoal…" She started to explain the entire semester of projects we were going to do, but somewhere in the middle, I spaced out.

"Oi, Kid." I looked up to see Levi standing in front of me and the classroom empty.

"Class is done."

I blinked twice before going into panic mode.

"Crap! I was suppose to meet Armin at Starbuck's right after my classes!" He's got a shift at work thirty minutes after I get out of classes for the day. Just my luck.

"Thanks, Levi, but I have to go now-" I looked up and the man wasn't there anymore, and I was all alone.

"Wait, so let me get this straight. You met Levi." Armin raised both his eyebrows in suspicion.

I nodded my head quickly.

"Levi? Ackerman? Actor Levi?"

I nodded my head again and rolled my eyes.

"Yes Armin I did."

He stared down at his coffee for a while before speaking up.

"Are you sure?"

"God, yes Armin I saw the man, in the flesh. Don't worry I didn't cheat on you." I joked

Me and Armin have been best friends ever since we were little, and me being the little gay baby I was I joked about me and Armin being in a relationship. It stuck ever since. Everyone in our group teases us about it. Even when me and Jean were in a relationship, he joked about it to me. It was kind of unofficially an official relationship. If that makes any sense.

"So, was Erwin there? Did he talk about him?" Armin questioned

I rolled my eyes again.

"Yes Armin he met a complete stranger at the college and decided, let me tell him about my supposed boyfriend."

"Well, I don't know…" Armin whacked my arm playfully.

"But I have the guy all year as a partner so if I meet Erwin by some wild chance that we become close enough, then I will put in a good word about you."

Armin smiled at me gratefully and took a sip of his coffee. He didn't have to tell me thank you, because I already knew it.

"So what was he like?"

I sighed deeply and though for a moment "Commanding." I finally came up with.

"Whenever he looks at you, it's with this force that just commands you to pay obey and listen to him."

Armin nodded along in understanding.

"He's also really prissy."

Armin just started laughing.

"Yeah, he's known for his attitude."

I scoffed. "You've got that right, you could fill space with the amount of ego that man has."

Armin smiled lightly at me and it threw me off a bit.

"What?" I asked suspiciously

"Nothing."

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion but left it at that. I'm not going to interrogate Armin. It's probably just some snarky ass comment.

Soon after we parted ways, and I was on my way back to my apartment to finish unpacking when my phone buzzed in my pocket.

 _ **Hanji: Wanna come over tom. to study? My roommate is suppose to be gone until later.**_

 _ **Eren: Sure, I'll see you then.**_

 _ **Hanji: Bring some snacks, momma's hungry.**_

I rolled my eyes at the last text and kept on walking towards my apartment as my phone blew up from Hanji's constant texts.

A/N: I'm updating early because of finals next week as I'm super busy the rest of the weekend and next week, so don't get used to it. And a shout out to everyone who's supported this story. Your support doesn't go unnoticed, so thank you all and I'll see you next time.


	3. Chapter 3

Short & Sweet

Chapter 3

"Home sweet apartment." Hanji said opening the door extravagantly. Why did I agree? I feel like I've just walked into a serial killer's lair. Like that one scene in Dexter, ugh fucking kill me now before the crazy woman does.

"Don't be scared, don't be scared. I won't bite...Or will I?" Hanji laughed hysterically as I laughed along nervously.

Why do I feel like that wasn't a joke.

"Just make yourself comfortable." She called to me from the kitchen.

Surprisingly enough, her apartment was very clean. And when I meant clean I mean hospital sterilization clean. Which seems odd of her character.

"Your place is uh...very clean."

The apartment is a fairly large apartment, in fact I don't think that a normal college student would be able to afford it.

"Thank you!" She squealed

The living room had a very homey feeling to it. Although the walls are white, the neutral colored furniture made the apartment feel very comfortable, despite the oddly clean space. There was a couch sat in front of a table, which looked directly at the fireplace. Above the fireplace was a medium sized flat screen T.V. There were glass tables at either end of the couch, which lamps sat atop both of them. There was also a love seat next to the couch, it faced the kitchen.

The room was so comfortable to be in, sort of like when you come back home after a long time, it just feels so good to be back. It's sort of like that. Weirdly comforting. Like home.

I decided upon sitting on the couch. There were also several black bean bags sat on the floor, but I didn't want to seem too comfortable in a stranger's home. I feel like I would be imposing if I did so.

The time seemed to pass slow as I leaned back in the comfortable couch, thinking about my day. Today I had my science classes, and my statistics class. Both were very uneventful, although I did meet a girl named Annie in statistics class. She turned out to be quite nice despite her cold outward appearance. A certain grey eyed, emotionless man came to mind when thinking of emotionless cold outward appearances. I wonder if he always is that cold or if he's actually kind underneath all of the sass. My mom always says not to judge a book by it's cover, but…

Who's actually that rude, but still nice? Maybe before the end of the year I'll be able to figure out the enigma that is Levi Ackerman. Ha, it would take more than a million years to understand that man's thought process.

"Would you like something to drink?" Hanji asked me from the kitchen, popping her head out of the door, her long straight hair falling over her shoulder messily.

"Eh, Do you have coffee?"

"Did you bring the snacks?" Hanji asked sneakily as if bartering with me.

I smiled widely at her childish behavior. "Yes, Hanji. Chips or candy?" I asked holding up both bags I'd taken out of the plastic grocery store bags. I went to the grocery store before coming here, as I don't really have that much food in my fridge or anywhere else for that matter. Mikasa often comes over to make me food in the morning.

She grinned and screamed "BOTH!" and her head retracted into the kitchen before I heard her banging around in the kitchen.

I shook my head and placed both of the junk food bags on the table and sighed.

Suddenly the door was slammed open and a very pissed off Levi came through the door. He looked at me and stooped in his tracks, raising an eyebrow in confusement. "Brat?"

What the hell! "Don't call me a brat."

"Levi!" Hanji screeched in excitement and jumped on the small man causing him to scoff in annoyance.

"Get off of me four eyes, I'm not in the mood." He said trying to push her off.

"No! Just let me love you!" Levi continued to push and shove at the woman, but couldn't get away from her grasp.

"Wow, didn't think you were that weak, shrimp." I said egging him on.

Levi's head snapped up and he was fuming. "You're just asking for me to kick your ass! I'm not in the mood brat!"

I just shrugged "Why should I worry if you're too weak to get away from a girl?" For some reason, messing with Levi was really fun.

Levi was trying his hardest to escape the mad woman's grasp but she had some kind of

monster grip on him. I wouldn't be surprised if Hanji was actually a vampire or something. It would actually make a lot of sense. "You can't hurt him, Levi~! We're the best of friends!" the woman whined.

"How are we best friends?"

Levi clicked his tongue in annoyance as I stuck my tongue out at him. Yes, I am a child.

"How can you be friends with a brat like him?"

I rolled my eyes. "Jeez, who shit in your cereal?"

"Tch, none of your damn business, brat."

Hanji let go of Levi before running into the kitchen to grab the coffee. "Why are you home so early?" Hanji asked after a few moments of silence.

Levi just placed a hand on his head in frustration, probably because of an oncoming headache from Hanji's bickering.

"So is it work?" Hanji tried again.

The black haired man sighed in frustration. "Yeah, something like that." Levi plopped his small frame onto the couch.

"So, what'd they say about the part?" Hanji asked sipping her coffee, legs crossed.

"Well, they said I could get the part, but only if I get some experience in the area."

Hanji cackled loudly almost spilling her coffee.

"Watch it! I don't want to have to clean the rug again dammit."

Hanji smiled sheepishly "Well I'm sure you have plenty of experience in that area."

Levi rolled his eyes. "That's not what they mean Hanji, they mean the emotional part."

"What about you and Erwin? Are they not convinced with you guys?" That part caught my attention. What are they talking about? What about Erwin and Levi?

The commanding man just nodded his head no.

Hanji snorted "Good luck finding someone to go along with this."

Levi just sighed "You don't think it could just happen naturally?"

"Not anytime soon."

"You're gonna start shooting in what? A month?"

The short man just nodded

"With your shitty attitude and issues? No."

The man let out another sigh. "This could be it though. This is a very highly anticipated series."

Hanji was quiet for a while.

It was weird seeing Levi like this. All these emotions, although subtle, they were there. The anger, displeasure and maybe...anxiety? Levi? No. That doesn't even seem possible. Although a day ago I thought that Levi showing any type of emotion on his face besides annoyance would be impossible.

"What happens if you don't get someone to do it?"

Levi looked over to Hanji, deadpanned.

"I'm fired."

Hanji set her coffee down on the table and started to leave the room. "Maybe I can find

someone…" she mumbled to herself, dragging her feet down the hall.

"No! Fuck...You'll probably just pick some weirdo friend of yours!"

When she was gone, I realized just how awkward I was the entire time they were talking I had been standing, just eavesdropping. Suddenly I felt extremely out of place and sat down at the other end of the couch. The farthest from Levi.

Then there was an awkward silence that fell over the room.

"Is it something I can help with?"

Levi snapped his head over to me, his steel eyes glancing me up and down like a predator would his meal. "Why would you do that?"

He looked like he couldn't believe I would ever do something for him. I mean I don't blame him, he's not the kindest of people.

"I really respect what you're doing. That you have so much conviction for the thing you love. I want to support anyone who has that kind of passion for their dream." It's 100% true as well. I really did respect him for his accomplishments.

Although he's still an asshole.

Levi chuckled darkly. "Dream, huh"

My eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. What'd he mean? I decided to dismiss it as he probably would give me a scowl and tell me 'It's none of your business, brat.'

"So can I help you?"

Levi was looking to the floor in what seemed to be contemplation. He seemed to be weighing the pros and cons.

"No...nothing you can help with."

"Are you sure-"

"Yes." he snapped and it was like a bucket of cold water was thrown on me.

His demeanor suddenly turned cold and the eyes that once held emotion, showed nothing but emotionlessness. He then got up and headed towards the hall, but before he left he turned.

"Thanks, Kid." I felt my heart catch in my throat at the tiny smile that made its way on his mouth.

It was soft and slightly bitter as if it was forced, and it was completely Levi.

As it left me confused and slightly flustered.

Then he was gone.

"Are you sure Mikasa can't make it?" I asked

Armin sighed, grabbing a pillow off the couch and plopping on the floor.

"Yes, dumbass. How many times do I have to repeat it?"

"Well she needs to stop working so hard. That job of hers is gonna be the death of her." I said sitting next to Armin in front of the T.V.

"Good luck trying to convince her of that." Armin stated turning the T.V. over to Netflix.

Armin, Mikasa, and I all decided we'd have a sleepover today, after my study session with Hanji, but Mikasa bailed on me. Mikasa loves her job, so she's constantly working. It's rare when we actually get time to sit down with each other which was why I was so excited for tonight.

"Okay, so we have the choice of an episode of Wings Of Freedom or Wings Of Freedom." Armin said

I rolled my eyes and groaned.

"We watch it every single time we're together."

"Well then you won't care if we see one more. Please, just one episode." Armin begged

"Tch, fine just one." I said exasperated

Armin smiled sweetly and squealed with excitement.

"Yes!"

Armin picked through the episodes before settling on a newer re run.

In the meantime I made us some popcorn and grabbed some blankets, as I was currently freezing my tits off. The thermostat is currently broken, so it'll only heat up to like sixty degrees.

I grabbed the large fluffy blanket off the couch and handed the popcorn to Armin, as I draped the blanket around us.

"So, I forgot to ask, How did studying go at Hanji's?" Armin asked as the theme song started up.

I laughed quietly at the memory of the brown haired girl. The more time I spend with Hanji the more I come to love her personality, she's such a kind person, as excitable as she is.

"It was fun, she really explains the material in a way I can understand. She's also really fun, even though she's kind of crazy."

Armin nodded in understanding. "What else?" He almost knew me too well.

"Apparently Levi's, Hanji's roommate." I said bluntly. It was kind of hard to believe, why are they friends? Hanji is a lovable person while Levi is a very...argumentative person.

Armin eyes widened to saucers and gasped loudly, pausing the video.

"Details now."

"Well, there's not much to tell you. All I know is that Hanji and him are pretty good friends. I don't know much else, I mean me and him aren't exactly friends. Whenever we get the chance to talk to each other we end up fighting."

Armin looked at me skeptically.

I narrowed my eyes at my blonde friend. "What?"

"Nothing." Armin said looking away.

"No, what?" I insisted. He did this yesterday too, I want to know what it's about. I turned my whole body towards him to get my full attention on him.

Armin sighed "Well, It's just that I think there is a very fine line between like and hate."

I rolled my eyes at the absurdity of the statement. I'm not in some sort of cliché manga.

"Yeah right Armin."

He turned towards me and licked his lips in concentration. "No think about it. Psychologically speaking it makes sense. Levi is a very emotionless man so in his own weird way, he could be flirting with you as he doesn't know how to express himself very well."

I guess that sort of made sense. But still. "If he really liked me he wouldn't threaten me every time I crack a joke at him."

Armin sighed quietly and turned back to the show. I could tell that he wanted to say something but didn't want to ruin our precious evening together. He could restrain himself a lot more than I ever could.

Whatever.

Armin then unpaused the show, and the scene started out with an up close shot of a titan eating someone. I zoned out somewhere in the middle of the episode when they were about to go on an expedition when my phone rang.

I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and smiled when I saw what the caller ID was: Mom.

"Hey, I've got to take this call."

Armin nodded not taking his eyes off of the screen, too busy watching Mr. Bushy Brows.

I walked out of the apartment to give myself some privacy. I don't need Armin to tease me about my mom later on. She always manages to embarrass me.

"Hey mom! What's up?" I answered cheerfully.

There was a pause before I heard my mother's voice come through the receiver.

"Eren, I'm going to be blunt with you, because I know how mad you would be if I just threw this in at the end of a normal conversation."

"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, mom, slow down! Just tell me what happened?" I could feel my stomach drop. Whatever my mother wants to tell me must be important, she never rambles on like this.

There was another long pause on her side, and I almost thought she hung up on me before I heard her mangled voice over the receiver. Has she been crying?

"Don't be angry with me Eren, I didn't do it to spite you or him I just couldn't take it anymore, I tried to hold out for you but I just couldn't. I couldn't live with that man anymore, live with what he did every single day and night."

"Mom, what are you talking about?" I asked slowly. The knot in my stomach seemed to twist again and again. This wasn't like my mom at all. This wasn't Carla.

"Eren...I left Grisha." And like that the pit in my stomach was gone.

"That's it? Why would I be mad at you for that? I've been telling you to leave his sorry ass for years!" I chuckled in relief

"It's not that I'm worried about. Eren, you know who the main source of income was right?"

"It was Grisha. If you need somewhere to stay I can help you out, you could come stay at my apartment a little while."

"Eren, you know that I can't work right?"

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, what was she trying to get at?

"What do you mean?"

"Eren, I can't help with your college fund anymore."

It hit me, but it never really sunk in.

All of my hard work was gone. The good grades, the fairs, the art contests, all of it gone. I can't afford to pay for college by myself, and I sure as hell am not going to get help from Armin or Mikasa, and my mom's disabled. She couldn't help me even if she wanted to. She only gets enough money to help herself.

"Where are you going to stay?" I asked slowly.

"I'm going to stay with a friend for a little while, I'll try to send you some money, maybe I could get a job-"

"Stop it mom, don't' hurt yourself for my sake. If worse comes to worse and I lose the apartment I can always crash at Armin's or Mikasa's. They have my back 100%. Don't even worry about it. You have nothing to be sorry for. I'll get a job, don't worry." I kept repeating the words as if to convince myself. 'Don't worry you'll be okay.'

"Are you sure you'll be okay? You know what, I'll drop in after I get myself together and see if I can help out. Even if it's washing dishes or something, I'll help you out."

Ugh, I don't want my mother to feel guilty over this, it's not her fault.

"How long till the next payment?"

"Next Semester."

So I have an entire semester to come up with a means to pay for college.

Great.

A/N: TA DA! Here's another chapter bitches, enjoy! I'm on winter break and I feel like a fucking slug. Oh well. Anyways, how will poor widdle Eren make money? Prostitution? WHO KNOWS?

Oh wait I do! Enough fucking around. I may or may not give you a chapter tomorrow. IDK depends on how fast Imma writin. Next chapter I'm hoping to get into more plot, so look forward to that. Btw I want to know, would you guys like shorter, the same length or longer chapters? Just curious. Anyways have a nice mother fucking Christmas! Until next time!~


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